Second Level Navigation

This Toolkit is released as an online beta version. Teachers are invited to share their experiences in using this Toolkit by emailing one of the project contacts.

Learning Activity

Besides the projects, the learning activity (a shorter classroom-unit) is an alternative for the teachers to integrate Holocaust Education and Human Rights Education in their day-to-day-teaching with a smaller amount of time.

Learning activity “What Have You Done? What Do You Do for Human Rights?”

Project Description and Didactic Objectives

In 1948, humanity found a consensus on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect all human beings and their freedoms and their dignity – an inspiring invention! Today, we have to state that still every day many human rights violations occur. Different actors contribute to these violations. Different factors are part of this prob-lem which is emphasized by globalization. Unfortunately the private sector plays a problematic role as well. The learning activity “What Have You Done? What Do You Do For Human Rights?” isn’t about pointing the finger on somebody, because all of us are complicit of human rights violations. (e.g. as consumers of products which have been produced under conditions violating human rights, …). It’s about human rights as a responsibility of the entire society. Companies – like other institutions – can contribute to the implementation of human rights. At the same time, they can violate human rights.

In the learning activity, students research about delinquent and complicity of companies contributing to the Holo-caust and about compensation-measures by these companies after the Holocaust. After this first phase, students look in a second phase for today’s activities of the same companies in favor of and against human rights. In a third phase, they connect the results of this first phase with the results of the second phase and look for alterna-tive labels and companies which give the consumers the possibility to avoid being complicit of human rights violations.This learning activity aims to sensitize students for the Holocaust and the role of the private sector and for human rights today, the positive and negative contributions of the private sector and the responsibility and power of them as consumers to act for human rights.

Program outlineDuration: 480 minutes Research of delinquent and complicity of companies contributing to the Holocaust andof compensation-actions by these companies after the Holocaust: 240 minutes Research of today’s activities/measures of the same companies in favor of and against human rights (eventually interaction with companies about the activities/measures): 120 minutes

Step-by-Step Work Plan in Chart Form

Search for accurate sources on delinquent and complicity of companies (ev. with a local, national or regional link to the school) contributing to the Holocaust in:

archives

Internet

Literature

2 hours

Learning activity

1. Research of delinquent and complicity of companies contributing to the Holocaust on the fundament of indicated sources (if possible companies whose products are directly linked to students’ contexts (e.g. PCs/Laptops, clothes,…)

120 minutes

Sources

Internet Access

2. Research of compensation-actions by these companies after the Holocaust on the fundament of indicated sources

120 minutes

Sources

Internet Access

3. Research of today’s activities/measures of the same companies in favor of and against human rights